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A Slippery Slope: Nationalization of concealed carry laws would make
things in this country simpler and much safer. Currently, under
federal legal precedent it is legal for states to allow concealed
carry with a permit, or even with no permit at all, says Laurie
Ekstrand, established author. By nationalizing concealed carry laws,
all states would have to have the same regulations governing concealed
carry, making things much simpler than in the status quo. Because this
would require permits to be issued and background checks to be
conducted before concealed carry would be allowed, things would be
much safer. This would also impose strict regulations on who can carry
a concealed weapon and where they can carry it, thus making the
chances of accident or misuse much slimmer… (At least this advocate
admits that bringing in the feds would entail "strict regulations."
She neglects to deal with how such regulations would not eventually
include psychiatric exams, the same "qualifications required for
LEO's, certification of need, etc. I hope that by "federal legal
precedent" she means that the federal nature of our republic mostly
allows each state to set its own standards.)
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2283371/why_the_united_states_should_nationalize.html
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The Beat Goes On: The demand for concealed handgun licenses is on the
upswing, and a local police department is meeting the need to teach
people how to exercise their right responsibly. The trend is
widespread across Texas, and most people are attributing the increase
to the presidential election of Barack Obama because people started
fearing their right to bear arms may be limited under the new
administration. Beginning in December 2008, the Texas Department of
Public Safety started receiving an unprecedented number of
applications of concealed handgun permits, said Tom Vinger, assistant
chief of DPS media relations. During the first six months of 2009, DPS
received an average of 12,700 applications per month, which is 46
percent more than the average for the first six months of 2008, which
was 8,700. Montgomery County is no different than the rest of the
state. The state granted 1,892 CHLs to county residents between Sept.
1, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2008. For the same period from 2008 to 2009,
with two months to go, 2,464 have been granted to residents, which is
a 30 percent increase…
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/10/19/conroe_courier/news/handgun1020.txt
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More people are learning how to shoot on target. According to Fayette
County's New River Concealed Carry owner Kevin Willis, who's also a
Fayette County [WV] Sheriff's deputy, requests for concealed weapons
permit training courses - which are required by the state prior to
obtaining a permit - are on the upswing. The 11-year police veteran
says this is a good thing. "Any person that wants to use a handgun for
self-defense should know how to own and operate one safely," Willis
commented. Willis says an increase in crime rates and a fear of
stricter gun control under the Obama administration are the plausible
motivations behind the public's newfound interest in guns… Once the
course is completed, students can apply for a concealed weapons permit
at their local sheriff's department for a fee of $75. The permit
remains active for five years…
http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_292235529.html
More than 2,000 people walked through the UAF Patty Center doors this
weekend for the annual Tanana Valley Sportsmen's Association Fall Gun
Show. Buyers, sellers and spectators alike this weekend attributed the
nationwide surge in gun and ammo sales to worries that the Obama
administration and a Democratic-controlled Congress will make a move
to restrict gun ownership. Though this weekend wasn't the first gun
show since the presidential election, the record turnout was also
boosted by the release of the Permanent Fund Dividend. "I think it's
common to see sales go up a little when the PFD comes out, but I think
there is a lot of fear out there that is fueling people to buy guns
and ammo," said William Galligan, a senior at UAF and member of the
Alaska Nanooks rifle team. "Smith and Wesson sales have gone through
the roof since the election, not to mention the price and availability
of ammo. You almost can't find it anywhere and a lot of people have
resorted to trying to make their own." According to his teammate, Cody
Rutter, finding ammo in town has become a challenge, even at major
retailers like Sportsman's Warehouse… (The PFD is a form of royalty
that Alaska residents receive from the petroleum industry.)
http://newsminer.com/news/2009/oct/19/obama-and-pfds-recipe-record-fairbanks-gun-show-tu/
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Fifth Circuit Upholds USPS Parking-Lot Ban: On October 14, 2009 the
United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld
the conviction of a postal employee for possessing a gun in his
vehicle while parked on a non-public United States Postal Service
(USPS) parking lot in violation of a federal regulation at 39 CFR
232.1(l). The court's opinion in United States v. Doroson can be found
here. Mr. Doroson had appealed the conviction on the ground that the
USPS gun ban violated the Second Amendment. The Fifth Circuit panel
disagreed, writing that, "the Postal Service used the parking lot for
loading mail and staging its mail trucks. Given this usage of the
parking lot by the Postal Service as a place of regular government
business, it falls under the 'sensitive places' exception recognized
by Heller." The Court did not indicate whether the Second Amendment
would protect gun owners from prosecution if they possess a gun in the
public areas of USPS property. Even though USPS parking lots are often
indistinguishable from other public parking lots, and are not posted
to warn the public of the gun ban, USPS spokesperson Joanne Vito told
the Examiner.com that 39 CFR 232.1(l) … (As to mailing firearms, FFL's
can actually mail handguns to each other but the process requires a
written declaration.)
The Plot Thickens: "The Concealed Carry in the Post Office Analysis by
Robert P. Firriolo, Esq. usually at this URL has been removed pending
a review in light of recently revised U.S.P.S. regulations,
specifically a new introductory clause to 232.1." (Previously, the
argument had been made that it might be legal to carry on Postal
property "for lawful purposes.")
http://www.thegunzone.com/rkba/rtc-usps.html
… (l) Weapons and explosives. Notwithstanding the provisions of any
other law, rule or regulation, no person while on postal property may
carry firearms, other dangerous or deadly weapons, or explosives,
either openly or concealed, or store the same on postal property,
except for official purposes.
A Proposal for Wisconsin: Open carry has always been the law of the
land in Wisconsin, however some people are now having regrets they
supported the Governors two veto's of concealed carry legislation.
There is new talk from the Milwaukee District Attorney and Milwaukee
Police Chief about passing a concealed carry law in exchange for our
liberty. Well, no thank you… Since a carry law is not really about
guns (or "gun rights") but a citizen's right to possess the proper
tool needed to maintain their constant state of peace, I am providing
a basic framework below about what a good carry law for Wisconsin
should include. Anyone may disagree but if you do there are some rules
you must follow. I expect you to provide independently verifiable
evidence why I am wrong (your opinions do not count) and then offer an
alternative idea that can be verified will work better. If you want
the legislature to write a good carry law, it is more likely to happen
if you tell them exactly what you want… (When licensed CCW was being
debated in the Arizona legislature, there was one group of gun owners
who opposed it, for fear that a drop in lawful, unlicensed open carry
would eventually "allow" the legislature to restrict or ban that
practice.)
Here's a Suggestion: In these difficult economic times, Gov. Paterson
has called for $3 billion in budget cuts. The New York State Rifle &
Pistol Association has a suggestion for saving several million
taxpayer dollars each year: abolish the Combined Ballistic
Identification System (COBIS). The COBIS program was introduced by
Gov. Pataki in 2000. Its stated purpose is to collect identifying data
from the shell casings of all new handguns sold in the state. This
information is then entered into a database for use by law enforcement
to aid in identifying and prosecuting criminals. Since its inception,
over a quarter of a million shell cases have been collected and
entered into the database at an estimated cost of $32 million and not
a single arrest or conviction has resulted. In fact, COBIS has proven
to be such a boondoggle that no other state is even considering
implementing their own version of it. If Gov. Paterson is serious
about saving money, then COBIS ought to be at the top of the list of
programs to be cut. (I believe that Maryland has a similar program, if
it's still in operation – a few years back the state police ask to
scrap it so that they could use the funds for more productive
projects.)
Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200: A 39-year-old man, who reportedly
shot and killed another man in self-defense Sunday night in Anderson,
has been turned over to U.S. marshals in anticipation of a federal
weapon charge. McDonald County [MO] Sheriff Robert Evenson said
Matthew D. Robertson, 32, died of a single shotgun blast during an
altercation with Michael J. Smith at the Wallain Court apartment
complex in Anderson, where both men lived in separate units.
Authorities received a call at 8:30 p.m. reporting the shooting at the
apartments and found Robertson dead, the sheriff said. Evenson said
deputies determined that Robertson was in the act of breaking in the
door to Smith's home when Smith shot him in the chest with a
.410-gauge shotgun. "It appears that he is not going to be charged
with any homicide-related charge," the sheriff said... But, because of
a prior felony conviction, the U.S. attorney's office in Springfield
plans to charge Smith with being a felon in possession of a firearm,
Evenson said. Smith was transferred to the custody of the U.S.
Marshals Service. Specifics of the prior felony conviction were not
available Monday night… (The late Elmer Keith opined that once a man
has "paid his debt to society," he should regain the RKBA.)
http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_293001308.html
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But the Deaths Were Not Firearm-Related: Two people died in Okanogan
County [WA] during the inaugural weekend of the general firearms deer
hunting season. Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said deputies and
dispatchers had a busy opening day of deer season Oct. 17. Among the
calls were the two deaths, lost and injured hunters, and trespassing
and shooting complaints. A boy called dispatch around 3:35 p.m. to
report that his father had fallen and struck his head on some rocks,
Rogers said… Deputies and Aero Methow Rescue personnel responded and
found the man, who was deceased, Rogers said… Earlier in the day, at
6:30 a.m., dispatch was notified of a possible heart attack victim on
Baldy Pass near Conconully. The man, 42, was transported off the
mountain in a private vehicle, which was met by emergency personnel.
The man was taken to Mid-Valley Hospital, Omak, and died there, Rogers
said… (Those who hunt are often advised to take a couple of months
prior to the season and ensure that they are in adequate physical
condition to do so.)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n091018b.shtml
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Another Look at M4 Failures: …There was one thing mentioned in the
news stories that has some relevance, and that's rifles jamming (not
because of heat problems). This goes back to the decades old argument
about replacing the recoil system in American assault rifles. This
came to a head (again) two years ago, when the army ran more tests on
its M-4 rifle, involving dust and reliability. Four weapons were
tested. The M4, the XM8, SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat
Assault Rifle) and the H&K 416 (an M4 with the more dust resistant
components of the XM8 installed). The testing consisted of exposing
the weapons to 25 hours of heavy dust conditions over two months.
During that testing period, 6,000 rounds were fired from each of ten
weapons of each type. The weapons with the fewest failures (usually
jams) were rated highest. Thus the XM8 finished first, SCAR second,
416 third and M4 last. In response, the army said it was satisfied
with the M4s performance, but was considering equipping it with a
heavier barrel (to lessen overheating) and more effective magazines
(27 percent of the M4s 882 jams were magazine related.) The army noted
that the M4 fired over 98 percent of its rounds without problems. The
army had been forced by Congress to conduct the tests. Congress was
responding to complaints by the troops…(The die has already been cast
with SCAR for SOCOM, which is proceeding with SCAR Light [.223] and
SCAR Heavy [.308].)
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htweap/articles/20091019.aspx
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Cerberus to Go Public with Firearms Unit: After bad bets on cars and
home loans, Cerberus Capital Management is turning to guns and
bullets. The private-equity firm is in advanced preparations for an
initial public offering of Freedom Group Inc., said people familiar
with the situation, hoping to sell shares in a little-known company it
has built into a dominant player in the red-hot rifle-and-ammunition
business. Over a three-year span, Cerberus - while under the spotlight
for ill-fated acquisitions of auto maker Chrysler LLC and lender GMAC
LLC - has acquired at least seven U.S. gun-and-ammunition makers.
Those companies have been consolidated into a Madison, N.C.-based
company ... (Ellipsis in original – this is the full article.)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125599020732295081.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_business
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When Guns Are Outlawed: Punishment or "respect" shootings are a
growing trend among young gang members in London, say police. Officers
from the [London] Metropolitan Police are looking into 72 reported
cases of people being shot in the legs this year, more than double the
33 incidents in 2008. The cause, according to senior officers, could
be an increase in punishment shootings, or attacks to garner
"respect", where shooters intend to wound their victims rather than
kill them. Commander Martin Hewitt of the Met said: "We are noticing a
propensity amongst a small element of people to use extreme levels of
violence for seemingly very little reason. "Often this is done to, in
some way, protect their reputation in the eyes of their peers." He
added: "When Trident first started, the gun crime that was taking
place was the enforcement offshoot of organised crime. "Where it is
different now is that it is less to do with organised crime but more
to do with respect issues and disagreements. It is more chaotic, more
spontaneous. It is a matter of reputation and issues around peer
pressure." …
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6881280.ece
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23758106-teenage-respect-shootings-soar-as-met-warns-of-chaotic-violence.do
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Tangentially Related: Howard Unruh, who carried out one of America's
most infamous mass shootings, killing 13 people, three of them
children, in a 20-minute, seemingly emotionless stroll through his
neighborhood in Camden, N.J., in September 1949, died Monday at a
nursing home in Trenton after 60 years' confinement. He was 88… Mr.
Unruh was found to have paranoid schizophrenia and never stood trial.
He was confined to the high-security Vroom Building for the criminally
insane at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital until 1993, when he was
transferred across the grounds to less restrictive wards in a
geriatric unit… Mr. Unruh fled to his apartment. Some 50 police
officers converged there and blazed away with machine guns, shotguns
and pistols… After the police fired tear gas, Mr. Unruh came outside,
his hands held high, his bow tie still in place…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/nyregion/20unruh.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&pagewanted=all
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…The women I queried yammered on and on. They giggled as they told of
lying to - or withholding the truth from - their partners about their
dress sizes, the cost of their hair highlights, whether they got Botox
injections or how much reality TV they watch. "You mean the old 'new
clothes out of the Nordstrom shopping bag into the cleaner's plastic
garment wrap before you come into the house' trick?" asked a
human-resources executive in San Francisco, who has been married for
37 years. "Well, obviously I plead guilty." … (Bernstein is most
probably a Noo Yawkah or she would have realized that many married men
do similar things with gun purchases.)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703816204574483151421332702.html?mod=djemLifeStyleh
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Gratia-Hupp Book Released: Women who make a difference: The title of
this article is also the title of a new book coming out in November.
It was written by Dr. Suzanna Gratis-Hupp who testified before
congress telling the graphic story of how she witnessed 23 people
gunned down in a restaurant named "Luby's" in Killeen, Texas – those
victims included her parents who has just celebrated their 47th
wedding anniversary. It was a bright shiny day outside on that fatal
day on October 16, 1991. But the memory of that day will forever bring
darkness to the hearts of those who lost loved ones on that day.
Dr. Gratis-Hupp is a chiropractor by profession; but has also served
in the Texas legislature. Her new book, "From Luby's to the
Legislature: One woman's fight against gun control," is the result of
seeing her parents and others gunned down by a mad man, whom she does
not hold anger against; but is angry against the congress that caused
her not to have her gun with her on that fatal day. You can see and
hear her story on the video below. As in many cases, when a person
suffers a tragic event in their lives; it spurs them on to make a
difference and to make changes… (Her maiden name is actually
"Gratia,")
Something to Think About: …Now you have an opportunity to help the NRA
by sharing your thoughts on policy, politics, corporate partnerships,
and more. We are excited to announce the launch of the NRA-ILA Online
Advisory Panel, a community of our most active and loyal supporters.
As a part of the Advisory Panel, you will have the opportunity to
engage with other NRA members, take weekly polls and surveys, compare
your Members of Congress, track federal legislation, and more. This is
your chance to make your voice count. NRA-ILA wants to know what you
think and what gun owners are concerned-or excited-about in your part
of the country… (Registration requires a user name, password,
nine-digit ZIP Code, sex and date of birth. Polls are multiple-choice
but a feedback from is available for individual comments.)
